1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a medical visualization method for selection and display of organ slice images acquired by means of an imaging modality. The invention furthermore concerns a combined display/input device suitable for implementation of the visualization method as well as a corresponding computer program product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For an oncological or cardiological diagnosis, it is typical to use a series of organ slice images generated by means of imaging modalities. For example, computed tomography or x-ray tomography are suitable for use as imaging modalities. Magnetic resonance tomography, positron emission tomography as well as ultrasound are also suitable for acquisition of such organ slice images.
For oncological or cardiological questions it is furthermore required to be able to observe organs in the context of blood circulation or in a movement cycle at various phases. For example, certain conditions of a heart can be observed only at a certain point in time of the heartbeat cycle; they are not visible at other points in time. A suitable contrast agent can be introduced into the bloodstream of a patient to increase the contrast for observation of the organs by means of an imaging modality. The injected contrast agent bolus reaches the organ to be observed (for example a liver) at a defined point in time via the blood circulation. Upon passage of the contrast agent bolus through the organ, various flow or movement stages of the organ can thus be observed in succession. A liver tumor can be visible in a flow phase and invisible in another flow phase.
A series of organ slice images of the organ to be examined is therefore acquired with the images respectively being acquired at different points in time for a medical diagnosis. For examination and for diagnosis of a heart it is typical to acquire a series of organ slice images dependent on the ECG signal and, after these acquisitions, to respectively reconstruct the heart from the acquired series at specific phases of the heartbeat cycle. These phases are measured, for example, in a percent of a complete heartbeat cycle. Series in intervals of 5 or 10% of a heartbeat cycle are typical. As a result, the cardiologist can select from 10 to 20 series of organ slices, each series representing a given point in time of the heartbeat cycle.
For the observation of the liver, it is typical to use the various flow phases for designation of the acquired series of organ slice images. The flow characteristic of a liver is thus commonly sub-divided into three to five phases, namely into native, arterial and venous, and additionally into portal venous and late venous.
The viewer (for example a radiologist) considers the different phases of the organ to be examined, or the acquired organ slice images associated with those phases, in order to be make to pose a targeted diagnosis. For this purpose, he or she compares the organ slice images in the various phases with one another in order, for example, to be able to differentiate a tumor from a pseudo-lesion.
It is known to prepare organ slice images in the background, or to load organ slice images from an image data memory while the viewer considers the organ slice images that have already been loaded. In order to achieve a safer diagnosis, the viewer must consider all organ slice images, which occupies a great deal of time.
Furthermore, for a given patient it is known to load all acquired organ slice images from an image data memory and to provide them for selection in a menu.